The Story

"All of these lines across my face

tell you the story of who I am

so many stories of who I am

so many stories of where I have been

and how I got to where I am"

Lyrics by Phil Hanseroth

Sung with much love by Brandi Carlile

Photo by Ron Hirschi, Pihemanu

Life Story by X310

Born on Pihemanu

You know the rest of her story........

Go Plastic Free to Help her story have a happier ending

ALL WHALES GREAT AND VERY SMALL

Sue Coccia is a Washington State Artist

with a special love of whales.

Her "Blue Whale"

helps us see into the ocean world of baleen whales.

It is one of many images by Sue you will see here in the Museum of Endangered.

Unfortunately, many whales remain officially listed as endangered.

These include the largest animal to have ever walked, swam, or otherwise

graced the planet with its presence, the Blue Whale.

I saw my first blue whale off the north end of Marrowstone Island.

As it shot a firehose stream of water nearly 30 feet into the sky,

I watched its back, back, back, back, back.....go on for

what seemed forever. They are immense and inspiring animals.

This image is being posted today

to announce a new website aimed at helping one of the smallest

and probably the most endangered of all whales, the Vaquita.

The Vaquita is a porpoise that might reach five feet in length,

compared to the Blue Whale's 80 and even 100 feet.

They live on the edge of extinction

at the head of the Sea of Cortez.

Visit

http://www.vivavaquita.org/

to learn more.

Visit

http://www.acsonline.org/

(American Cetacean Society to learn even more about whales and how to help)

HONU ART IN THE SNOW

One of the great pleasures of being a writer is to work with artists,

artists like Yuko Green.

Yuko lives on the Big Island and knows much about its natural wonders.

One Yuko illustrated for Winter is for Whales

is a favorite I like to share with Keiki.

Some winters there is a lot of snow up on the mountains,

and kids can talk uncle into driving up with his red F150 -

scoop a bunch of snow into the bed of the truck

and cruise on back to the warmth of the beach.

Dump the snow and

MAKE A SNOW HONU!

That's what Kai and Lehua are up to here.

They also let us know we need to keep distance from real Honu

and try to make sure safe nesting beaches remain

on the main islands and up in

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument

where most Honu nest.

CUTTHROAT TROUT

Few fish on the planet have attracted as much attention as trout.

Cutthroat are natives of the west

and have diversified, geographically

into four major groups of 14 subspecies

according to Rober Behnke.

The photo above by

Pat Clayton

of Fisheyeguyphotography

is a Yellowstone Cutthroat, a trout in trouble in part because

of introduced Lake Trout, fish dumped carelessly into Yellowstone Lake.

I caught my first cutthroat when I was five or six and often

help lead guide trips to explore their habitat with my friend,

Doug Rose.

Doug and I love nothing more than to fly fish in small beaver ponds

where Coastal Cutthroats sometimes live out their entire lives.

Other Coastal Cutthroat swim in the Salish Sea and open Pacific

where they are prey of eagles, harbor seals, and maybe an occasional orca.

You can best view Yellowstone Cutthroat up close (inches from their face)

at Lehardy Rapids, Yellowstone National Park.

Or, to hold one briefly, book a guided tour with the best Montana and

Wyoming Guides, Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Montana.

HAWAIIAN MONK SEAL

Brenda Becker has been studying Hawaiian Monk Seals

since 1985.

Her sensitive, thorough, and critical work

has taught us a great deal about these endangered marine mammals.

We have already lost other relatives of the Monk Seal.

In fact, Christopher Columbus more or less started the decline

into extinction of the Caribbean Monk Seal

when he ordered his men to shoot eight of them.

Hawaiian Monk Seals are, unfortunately, still shot by thoughtless people.

Others die from natural predation by sharks.

Some are entangled in marine debris.

Habitat alteration is also a threat.

And yet, many join Brenda Becker to help these marine mammals.

Current USFWS estimates of total population range between 1100 and 1200 seals.

Only one in five juveniles are reaching maturity and

The entire population is declining at a rate of 4% per year.

You can do the math........

Monk Seal Poster Art by Oahu artist, Tammy Yee.

HUMPBACK WHALES, POLAR BEARS, AND HAWAIIAN PLANTS

I had the honor of visiting Papahanauamokuakea

 Marine National Monument

this past summer.

Before the journey, I asked kids to ask me questions about

the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and its ocean life.

Some of the best questions came from Mrs. Charna's Book Club

at Columbus School for Girls.

The kids did research before asking me what to look for, what to

study, and what we might be able to do to help the birds, honu, and other life.

One five year old asked,

"How has climate change affected Humpback Whale Migration Patterns?"

I turned to whale biologist, Jan Straley for the answer.

She said the melting ice is increasing summer humpback whale habitat.

Artwork by Yuko Green

from Winter is for Whales by Ron Hirschi and Yuko Green

POLAR BEARS AND HAWAIIAN PLANTS

Hard to imagine the hand we dealt Polar Bears.

Tough to believe too, that their lives hang in the same balance

as many endangered Hawaiian Plants.

Polar bears are marine mammals and their cubs need to be able to swim

across open seas to reach ice edges.

But those edges are farther and farther apart as ice melts.

Adult bears can not catch seals where ice thins, breaking beneath their heavy bodies

as they stalk their prey.

Climate has changed.

Ice melts.

While up in the rainforest, rain does not fall as often, as much as in times past.

Although separated by a few thousand miles,

Polar Bears and Hawaiian Rainforests suffer from the same changes we cause.

They can survive if we make changes with them in our minds.

Art by Jocelyn Slack